Parts of London’s Underground will be closed for two days this week after the transport union RMT announced 24-hour walkouts on Tuesday and Thursday. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said members will be encouraged to stop work for a day on each of those days as part of a continuing dispute.
The strike follows talks that had briefly paused planned action last month to allow negotiations to continue. The RMT said it remains available for meaningful talks but that, despite ACAS discussions, Transport for London (TfL) has failed to give assurances on concerns over driver fatigue, reduced flexibility, shift lengths and the safety implications of the proposed working pattern.
TfL said it was disappointed the union was proceeding with strikes, and that it had offered assurances on the new patterns. The authority warned passengers to expect significant disruption to travel and commuting across the network.
TfL has said there will be no service on the Circle and Piccadilly lines on strike days. There will also be no Metropolitan line service between Baker Street and Aldgate, and no Central line service between White City and Liverpool Street. Other lines are expected to run but service levels will vary and be reduced.
Passengers should expect services to start late and finish early, with limited trains before 06:30. TfL has urged customers to complete journeys before 21:00 on both strike days.
The dispute centers on proposed changes to working patterns that the union says could affect safety in a critical role such as tube driving. Both sides say they remain open to further negotiations.